HENRICO, Va. (Oct. 2, 2017) – Boater Keith Estes of Spring Grove, Virginia, weighed a two-day cumulative total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds even to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Shenandoah Division tournament on the James River. For his efforts, Estes received $4,101. Estes said he concentrated on an array of creeks at the mouth of the Chickahominy River, near Jamestown. He targeted bass near trees and submerged wood in the 3- to 5-foot range.
“The main thing with tidal fisheries is that you have to pick whether you’re going to run the incoming or outgoing tide,” said Estes, who clinched his first career win in FLW competition. “Normally I like to fish the outgoing tide, but it was a very small window later in the day so I decided to run the incoming tide.”
Estes said a Blue Fleck-colored Berkley Power Worm caught the most fish, while crankbaits produced the big bites.
“I was fortunate to find fish in practice that I could save for Sunday,” said Estes.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Keith Estes, Spring Grove, Va., 10 bass, 28-0, $4,101
2nd: Brian LaClair, Denton, Md., 10 bass, 26-14, $1,951
3rd: Ben Reynolds, Callands, Va., 10 bass, 26-13, $1,301
4th: Wayne Dorman, Louisa, Va., 10 bass, 26-4, $910
5th: Mike Morris, Dover, Del., 10 bass, 25-12, $780
6th: Steven Wiseman, Bryans Road, Md., 10 bass, 25-6, $815
7th: Zachary Whitt, Newport News, Va., 10 bass, 24-7, $650
8th: Donald Estes, Richmond, Va., 10 bass, 21-7, $585
9th: Shaun Hunter, Mount Airy, N.C., nine bass, 18-2, $520
10th: Derek Brown, Charlottesville, Va., eight bass, 17-1, $455
Dennis Middleton of Madison Heights, Virginia, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds even – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $420. Jonathan Sayers of Wytheville, Virginia, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 19 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $2,151.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jonathan Sayers, Wytheville, Va., 10 bass, 19-10, $2,151
2nd: Ronald Fulwider, Moneta, Va., eight bass, 17-10, $975
3rd: Chad Poteat, Mount Airy, N.C., nine bass, 15-15, $699
4th: David Kennedy, Woodbridge, Va., nine bass, 15-14, $455
5th: Kenny Main, Colonial Heights, Va., eight bass, 13-15, $390
6th: Lenny Baird, Stafford, Va., seven bass, 13-9, $358
7th: Travis Garrett, Charlottesville, Va., seven bass, 11-3, $325
8th: William Lane, Midlothian, Va., five bass, 10-6, $293
9th: Chris Whittaker, Waverly, Va., six bass, 10-1, $260
10th: Nelson Bailey, Virginia Beach, Va., five bass, 9-6, $228
Dick Allen of Sumerduck, Virginia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 9 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $210.